An Eighth Shot of Espresso: Coffee and Creativity on Mum's Third Shift

The ring on my finger  does not  have a diamond  it is one that  I have picked for myself  not given to me that shows  my commitment  to my own  well being.

Don't try  to fill  idle time with activity:  your body  is telling you  to relax  take a break  just breathe  savor the moment don't rush let your mind stop its race to get everything done for just  one minute  before the chaos  of life  begins again

She had  everything planned  just so:  where her  daughter  would go to college  whom she  would marry  what career  she would take  an hour  to and from  and live at home  a doctor  or a lawyer  or be a doctor  herself  how lovely!  But her supposed  future was derailed:  by her own daughter

My facade:  someone who  has it all  together  keeps all  appointments  writes every day  edits, teaches  a good mum  in reality: someone who  cries in pain is awake at night tortured by doubt of doing a good job is barely  keeping things  together

A vessel  full of memories  as the seconds tick down  and the moments  become so fleeting  one side  of the hourglass  empties to fill  the other side when it runs out a cosmic hand reaches over to tip it so the flow begins anew  but nothing is lost  the balance is maintained  it's just the illusion  of time disappearing  into the ether.

A small river winds its way through in its banks carves a path started a long time ago thousands of years rock worn away gradually changing its course. it eventually  joins the bigger  tributaries flows past  shores that  never stay the same despite the illusion of complete stillness. Then branch out  into distant lands until it reaches  the vast ocean